Unit 10 Reflection

After refreshing my memory about what goals I set for myself, I realize that I did read the book on fasting, and I completed a 40 day fast that I had set as a goal ( I gave up coffee and soda for 40 days). However, the 6-day/week training schedule didn't hapen, and I am actually ok with this. I had a realization that I want to shift my focus to growing my business, sothat kind of training schedule was not feasible. I do still workout 3 days per week, but that is to maintain what I have been able to accomplish with my change of diet and the events I have done. I still do at least one race per month to keep myself motivated to workout those 3 days per week.
Psychologically, I feel better about the new focus. I had been feeling that something wasn't quite right and the 6 day per week training schedule seemd more difficult than it had before. I figured out that it was because God was shifting my focus for a reason. I feel great about my life and the 3 areas - mind, body, spirit - are still maintaining  around 8-9. I love my life and I love who I do my life with.
This course helped me quiet my mind and realize that one chapter had ended, and another had begun.
I am REALLY glad I took this course!

Final Project

1.Introduction:

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically?  What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

It’s important because we can’t take someone where we have never been, and if our integral health journey comes to an end, then the road ends for our clients, as well. If I am not practicing balance in my psychological, spiritual, and physical world, then how can I ask or expect my clients to do the same. It’s the old “practice what you preach” cliché, but there is so much truth to it. I wouldn’t feel credible if I asked my clients to do something I am not doing myself. It also makes us research and find out what is out there for us to recommend to our clients. If we are searching for resources and trying those resources, then we can offer some direction for them. Just knowing what has worked for us, is a good place to start with recommendations. Reading books, checking out websites, and asking other professionals is a good way to find out what is new and what works for others.

To achieve the goals I have for myself, I just need to keep doing what I am doing, and not “fall off the wagon” and get distracted by other areas of my life. It is really easy to get busy with the other things that develop me psychologically and physically, and it seems that the spiritual side is something I have to do intentionally. By this, I mean I have to constantly remind myself that it is just as important, to maintain balance in my life. It helps me with stress management and when I have gotten lax about it, in the past, I notice pretty quickly. My profession is all about helping people define and achieve goals, so it has to be the center of my focus, too, for my own life. Who wants a life coach that can’t accomplish her own goals? No one I know. I remind myself that I am a “walking billboard” for my business, and I have a responsibility to my business to keep it “fresh” and current.

II.Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

I assess myself with other people in my life, which I trust to tell me the truth about it. I have a fitness coach/trainer who put me on an eating plan in January 2012, and a 6-day/week workout, which helped me drop a good bit of weight. I have a pastor who I meet with regularly to bounce things off of, and I also teach a women’s group that helps women who struggle in different areas of life. I help them push through those areas, and we look at every part of their world – physical, spiritual, psychological – to figure out what may be causing them to “stall” in the same places over and over.  Psychological goes along with the physical and spiritual for me. If I am in a good place physically and spiritually, then I am more balanced psychologically. I can handle more, emotionally. My mental capacity is stretched when I am preparing for a race, and some of the races (especially triathlons, because I am not a strong swimmer) also cause me to heavily depend on prayer and trusting God will not let me drown in a lake, while I swim ¼ - ½ mile; it makes you rely strongly on your faith, when you are about to step into a murky body of water with 500 other people about to kick, hit, and swim over the top of you.

I score myself on a scale from 1 – 10, with 1 being the worst it could ever possibly be, and 10 being the best it could ever possibly be. In the spiritual category, I would give myself an 8; physical – 8; psychological – 8. That may sound pretty unlikely to you, but I know where I have come from, and those three numbers would have been below 5 a couple of years ago. There is room for improvement, as there should be, and this is why I must keep developing myself physically, spiritually, and psychologically.

III.Goal development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

A physical goal I have for myself is to do a half Ironman when I am 50 years old. I am 48 now, and it is totally do-able. A half Ironman is 1.2 mile swim, a 62 mile bike ride, and a half marathon. It won’t be easy, but if it were, then I probably wouldn’t want to do it. J

A psychological goal for myself is to get more comfortable with who I am. I have moments where I feel inferior, around certain types of people. It usually happens in business meetings, when I notice everyone around me drives a better car, lives in a nicer house, and wears nicer clothes than me. I let my mind wander too much, and I have to become quicker at pulling it back, when that happens.

A Spiritual goal for me is to default to faith, quicker, than I usually do. I have a tendency to try and work out solutions on my own, first, before going to God and praying about it. My worry and anxiety isn’t going to make it better, anyway, and I just want to get better at seeking peace, first, instead of panicking and trying to work it out on my own.

IV.Practices for personal health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

Physical: Of course, I will continue to train in the lap pool, biking longer distances (30 miles is my maximum, now), and running half marathons (I have done 4 already, but will keep doing those distance runs). I have also found, since beginning to train for such diverse events that my mind can make it or break it for me. Even when my physical body starts to shut down, or cramp, or fatigue, if I can keep my mind focused and in a positive place, I will finish in the vertical position. Once, while doing a half marathon, during the last 3 miles, my legs began to cramp so badly. I was losing electrolytes, of course, and not replacing them efficiently. I pushed myself, with sheer mind power, visualizing the finish line and how close it was getting, and kept jogging (not fast, but had to keep moving because my muscles would have locked up) until I crossed the finish line…with tears in my eyes. Not tears of joy, as much as I was in severe pain. I did it, though. I focus on the finish line, and trust in my training, and my equipment, and the fact that God will get me through to the end, if I just keep doing what I can. He always takes up the slack. J

Psychological: The subtle mind exercise is one that I found to be very beneficial for myself. Concentrating on my breathing and letting the thoughts come and go and not grasping onto them. I feel a disconnection from my body, and it actually causes my mind to relax and just be.  I also do what I call positive self-talk. I will write on 3x5 index cards some things I need to say over and over to myself. It’s sort of pep-talk and cheer-leading session directed at me. I have trouble with negative thoughts, and this helps me replace them with a positive thought. Those reassuring words of encouragement and support flash into my memory, and I move away from the negative “dark cloud”, under the “sunny blue sky”.

Spiritual: I work on this area every morning, after breakfast. I use a devotional book that has a scripture for that day, and then a few paragraphs of commentary about how to apply this to my life, or it could be something to encourage me for later. I read it over a few times, and make notes, if anything jumps out at me. I meditate on the words and pray and ask God if there is any special significance for it for me that day. If there is, I write it down and meditate some more and pray and journal what I want to say. Sometimes, I look up the scripture in my Bible and read the ones before and after it, to get more meaing in context. Also, I usually read a chapter a day in another book, that I have chosen that causes growth and development in different areas of my life. For example, about 3 years ago I was having some problems with being unable to forgive some people that offended me. I was recommended a book, by a friend, and I read the book; one chapter a day, meditating on the words and thinking about what it meant for my life. I was eventually able to forgive this group of people and move on with my life. Ever since, I practice forgiving quickly, because I’m only one that it makes “sick”. I remind myself, “That holding unforgiveness for someone is like drinking poison and expecting that person to die.” It’s not worth it, and it doesn’t work.

V.Commitment:

How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

I have always used journaling and having a mentor, to assess myself, down the road. I have a trainer for my physical fitness, a pastor for my spiritual fitness, and in my psychological world I have a business coach mentoring me, because starting a new business can really play havoc with your psychological “space”. To maintain these long-term practices, I will keep these people in my life, because I know that I function better with a coach/mentor. I know this about myself, and I use this to my advantage.

My 2 Faves

For myself, I have found the subtle mind and the meditation exercises to be the most beneficial for me. I get so relaxed in the subtle mind that I really feel a disconnection from my physical body. I am not talking about an out of body experience, but my limbs no longer feel connected to my body. It is very relaxing and I feel energized afterwards.  On the other hand there is meditation. I meditate on positive things such as scriptures that encourage or comfort me, and sometimes I get a personal revelation from thinking about what it says and then just listening ….and relaxing. I “hear” answers to what I am meditating on, at times. I get clarity and feel encouraged when I am done.

For example, I am doing a 30 mile bike ride in the morning. I have never ridden that far all at once, but I have been meditating on what I have accomplished and strategy for recovery when I get tired, and thinking about the hills and the flat places. I am preparing myself, mentally, for what I am doing, physically, in 12 hours. I do a lot of reminding myself of the great physical feats I have done and remind myself that if I could do that, I can do this…no problem J

Meeting Aesclepius

Wow...I was so relaxed at times that I almost dozed off. Envisioning the wise person, was amazing. I realized that I have always felt that I lacked wisdom in certain areas. I have a tendency (not so much anymore) to leap before I look. Which isn't always a bad thing, but it has gotten me into trouble. I have carried around inferiority because of this, and when I have acted on something too quickly, I would get defensive and lash out. I realized today, how far I have actually come in that "fault". I don't react in that way, anymore. I am more humble and willing to laugh at myself when I make a mistake. The person I chose was my husband, who is very wise and very even tempered. He has never purposely made me feel "stupid" or "un-wise", but I had felt that way when I would make a bad decision and feel attacked...and he wouldn't have to say a word to provoke those feelings. It was self-accusing statements I would say to myself. This exercise made me realize that I had actually become wiser, more patient, and more likely to look BEFORE I leap, now.
In describing he saying, "One cannot lead where one has not gone himself", I believe that the health and wellness professional should be someone who has walked through the places they are asking me to walk. It's a like most rehab centers' counselors are recovered addicts/alcoholics. I believe that empathy is greater,when you have been there and done that, and gives you a credibility that reading it out of a book or brochure cannot give. I think they should also be practicing what they preach, too. If they are expecting me to make healthy choices, they should have that in their own lives, as well.
I absolutely feel that I have an obligation to my clients to be developing my health psychologically, physically, and spiritually. I can only take them where I have been, and if my journey ends, then so does theirs. I implement psychological and spiritual growth by praying, reading my Bible, going to church regularly, meeting with my pastors/leaders to see if there are areas they see that I need to work on. I take care of myself physically, and give myself time to do the things I enjoy, that feed my mind and keep me smiling inside and out. Those things are as simple as having coffee with a friend, running/walking with a friend, or just spending time with friends/family.
That's just what I think :)

Integral assessment and exercise

For me the exercise was not very successful. The reason was the phrases I was supposed to say were too much… too many words. It wasn’t relaxing or revealing for me. It didn’t help me at all. In the assessment, I was supposed to ask myself, “What aspect of my life – psychospiritual, biological, interpersonal, or worldly – is the source of difficulty or suffering?” I am assuming this is for me personally, and right now, it would be biological, I think. I have been experiencing pain in my shoulders and neck, for days. I have had this before and nothing, including steroids, anti-inflammatory meds, and physical therapy reduced the pain. However, as I am typing this I am wondering if it could be tension from a lot going on in my world. It very well could be, and would make more sense than saying I have hurt myself in some way. So, that is something that I may need to work on and focus on for growth and development. Relaxing and meditating, and probably the subtle mind exercise would help, too. I have a stressful responsibility right now for the next 7 months, and that is compounded with my daily responsibilities with family, school, and work. So, it is necessary to relieve and relax my mind to release those muscles that are causing this radiating pain in this area.

I have a huge capacity for carrying a lot of things, but sometimes I think I go beyond that threshold, unknowingly, and it begins to show up in my body, before it does in my mind or spirit. Does that make sense? When that happens, it is my sign to “back off” on some things, I guess. J

Subtle Mind Part 2

I am not sure that I sufficiently covered the questions we were supposed to answer in the blog exercise so here is Part 2 of the Subtle Mind blog entry...
My frustrations of the loving kindness exercise were based on the fact that the narrator's guidance was so vague. Vague terminology and what I was supposed to do made it difficult to follow what I was supposed to be doing. I only enjoyed the ocean sounds, and music. However, in the subtle mind exercise, I was able to follow along and understand what I was being instructed to do, and again the ocean sounds were very soothing. I believe that the connection from spiritual wellness to physical wellness is a foundation that has to be built in order to maintain well-being. We cannpt disconnect the two, because what we feel and experience in our spirit manifests in the physical...be it calmness/peace or stress/anxiety. If I am calm in my spirit, then I am easier to get along with, and my mind isn't whirring with all the thoughts of what I have to accomplish that day. I always start my day nourishing my spirit by spending time with God praying, meditating, and being in silence. It makes the day so much more enjoyable, even if things go awry. Have a great weekend!

Subtle Mind

Well, this one was a bit more enjoyable and do-able, for me. I was able to follow the instructions and eventually I was so relaxed that I could not feel the rest of my body...I know that sounds weird, but I wasn't in a really confortable position, but I was able to  move from witnessing mind, to calm abiding, and lost the "location" of everything attached to my body...it was very cool and very relaxing. The deep breaths at the beginning really helped to focus on just observing the thoughts and not grasping them. What an incredible exercise... I really enjoyed this, and plan to do this more often. The ocean sounds are very conducive to losing yourself and releasing thoughts to just pass...observing them rather than grabbing hold of them. I really liked this...can you tell? :)

Loving kindness

Well, I have to say this has been the most difficult and the least enjoyable exercise , so far. The reason is that I have a hard time folloing the directions of the speaker. I have trouble visualizing what she is instructing me to do. They seem so abstract. The most helpful part of the mp3 is the ocean sounds, which really relax me and take me to my "happy place". I did enoy the part about breathing in the suffering and breathing out joy and health. I could visualize that, and actually found myself praying for the person I was thinking of. I also found myself whispering "joy and health" as I exhaled, as if I were creating that reality for her. I am not sure I would recommend this particular recording to anyone, because I had some trouble "getting it". However, I believe if I changed the words to something I could understand, it would be beneficial to others.
Mental workouts are these types of exercises and can reverse and change the course of our mental trails...where our thoughts takes us. Just like an athlete has to train, which includes basic things such as stretching, our minds can benefit from something as simple as retraining our inner thought patterns. Mental workouts can keep our stress level reduced and help us respond to life instead of reacting all the time. It keeps us from living in crisis mode, which is what alot of us probably do.

Goals and Reflections

Based on my own reflections of my well-being in the physical aspect, I feel that I am a 9. I am very active, at least 5 days a week. I'm in training for my next half marathon, this month, and I eat very clean to maintain the optimum energy that I need for that training...nothing crazy and over-the-top, but just clean eating and 1750 calories/day. As for spiritual well-being, I would say an 8. I spend time each morning, reading my Bible, praying, and communicating with God. I don't view it as a ritual, but more of a relationship-building necessity...like talking and meeting with a friend to maintain a friendship and grow closer. Finally, for psychological well-being, because these other two are so high on the scale, it affects me psychologically, because I feel more in control, and feel a sense of liberty and freedom; no stress. I would say it is an 8 or a 9.
My goals in these areas, are to get back onto a training schedule of 6 days per week, fasting regularly for spiritual reasons, and releasing some of the inferior thoughts I have when I compare myself to others.
To implement these goals, I will write my training schedule on my calendar, as an "appointment" with myself, I will read a book on fasting that will encourage me to stay the course until I have completed the time I planned, and when those thoughts enter my mind, I will change my inner voice track to point out my strengths and good qualities, rather than my faults and short-comings.
The relaxation exercise was VERY relaxing....I almost fell asleep. I felt the things he suggested, and imagined the beams of light. As I exhaled, I felt tension leave my body, and I really almost nodded off. It was beneficial, and concentrating on the phrases was what I found more helpful than the colored lights.The only thing that was frustrating was the barking chihuahua laying on the window sill in my living room...but I didn't want to get up and put her outside and break my focus anymore than she already did, at times.
Have a great rest of the week and weekend! :)

Here I Am

Hi, my name is Pam Jordan, and I recently turned 48 years old. I am a wife (22 years), and I have 2 daughters (29 yrs and 10 yrs), and 3 grandsons (10, 6, and 2). I am also a botcamper (strength training) runner, biker, and swimmer. I did my first triathlon in August 2011, and was hooked. I also enjoy running 5Ks on the road and trails, and half marathons. My goal at 50 yrs old is to do a half ironman; next year I will do an Olympic length triathlon to warm up :). At the age of 43, I achieved a black belt in karate (Shoto Kan & Shito Ryu styles).
Curently, I work with women in a group called PUSH, at my church. It is for women who are struggling to push through different areas of their lives-emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. By profession, I own my own Life Coaching practice, called "Live Inspired!", working with mostly women over 40 to help them define goals and achieve those goals.
My dream is to be a motivational/inspirational speaker to women's groups, to let women know that life isn't over a 40, but that it is just beginning! I love what I do, and I love it when women tell me, "I'm so glad you are in my life!"....that makes it all worthwhile.
I will finish school next April, and will graduate in summer 2013 in Chicago, with a BAS in psychology with emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. It's been a long road, and I am glad I can see the finish line....because I don't stop until I cross it!

Oh So Relaaaaxed....

Wow, it is amazing how the body does what the mind tells it to. As I was lying back and following the speaker's instructions about what I should feel, and where I should "send the blood", I could acutally feel and visualize the sensation of blood flowing and rushng through my veins from my stomach to my arms. The warmth and heaviness, to the point that I could not lift my arms was incredible. I have to admit that while listening to and following istructions, there was a part of my thoughts that were going, "Yeah, right", but when I actually concentrated, and focused on relaxing, it worked. Even the end where he suggested that we feel energized, rather than tired worked for me.
This is something I may use a few times a week to realign myself. I loved it.

A Lifetime Student

I have to say, one of my dream jobs would be to get paid for learning. Learning is a sweet spot for me, however, it doesn't mean that I always learn quickly. There are concepts that I have found to be so difficult to wrap my head around, that have left me in tears....and it's usually aything to do with math and statistics....anyone else?
Learning expands our minds, our perception, and our compassion. Learning has helped me feel better about who I am, who I was created to be, and who I want to become. It has opened up my mind to possibilities that I never before considered. It has helped me decide what I want to "be" when I "grow up" and what I DON'T want to "be". It has helped me understand the world much better, and how my influence can make a difference.... or not.
Learning helps me stay "well oiled" physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I am more relatable to all kinds of people, and I have found it keeps me fresher, younger, and more enthusiastic about life. I encourage everyone to keep learning...until they are no longer breathing....because it just makes me feel better about myself...so, it should be that way for everyone, right?
Hey, I know better than that...I've learned to be more open-minded about what others may or may not feel. Have a great day! GO read a book...or something! :)